When it comes to preparing authentic Italian-style pizza in Pahrump, there is no doubt that Mauro Saiglia’s expertise would be hard to match.
Saiglia is the owner of Farinata Italian-style pizza, located at 1360 E. Highway 372, Suite 3.
This month, he hosted a private tasting of a variety of pizzas on his huge menu.
During that event, he spoke about how his style of “Farinata” pizza is vastly different from other pizza shops throughout Southern Nevada.
“My pizzas are based on the authentic Italian style that I hope Pahrumpians will appreciate,” he said.
The pizza “is made with chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil,” Farinata’s explains on its website. “It is a thin cake baked in a high-temperature wood oven in large round pans in tinned copper.”
The dish is typically found in the Mediterranean, including in Italy, and is usually sold in pizzerias, according to Farinata’s website.
“But it is particularly well done in the regions of Tuscany, Liguria and Sardinia (city of Porto Torres),” where Saiglia is from, according to information from the company’s website.
“I started making pizza in early 2017. Previously, in 2016, I got the qualification of chef, but I immediately realized that my passion was making pizza. I have about three years of experience built between various internships with professionals, including Italian free-style pizza champion Umberto Loriga, who was my mentor. In addition, I followed various courses of updates, the most important of which was the last in 2019 with Maestro Angelo Pinna.”
Additionally, Saiglia personally manages the pizzeria, where he prepares fresh pasta each morning, along with a line of all the necessary ingredients.
He noted that his menu will be fairly simple, at least for the beginning.
“It starts with the classic Margherita, the simplest pizza and for some the best, to the Stagioni, complete with four toppings, which are olives, artichokes, mushrooms and ham,” he said. “We are always maintaining the Italian style, which is a guarantee of good quality. Some have already tasted my pizzas and have been satisfied.”
Saiglia also has an interesting backstory, before he left his Italian homeland and traveled to the United States.
He noted that he was first drawn to computer science while in high school.
“I immediately understood that it was not my way, so in the meantime I was clarifying the ideas, and I agreed to work in my father’s company, in which he owned a medium-sized grocery store where I worked as a cashier and seller for many years,” he said. “With the money I made, I made my first trips to the United States, to the classic cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami, until one day I was drawn to magical Las Vegas. From that moment it was pure love. After realizing that investing in Las Vegas would be too expensive, I started looking for nearby cities until, in 2017, I came across the wonderful Pahrump Valley.”
Roughly two years later, Saiglia decided to move to Pahrump where he began working to open his business, at 1360 E. Highway 372.
“I chose the town of Pahrump because it enjoys the light reflected from Las Vegas and in my opinion has incredible potential,” he said. “Furthermore, Pahrump only takes the good things and leaves out those that make Las Vegas a complicated city to live in, with too many traffic lights, too-tall buildings, infinite highway ramps and obviously expensive rent, which, in my opinion, in some way, they changed the magic of the desert forever, which is still alive in the town of Pahrump.”
At present, Saiglia is chomping at the bit to officially open his doors to the community at large.
“To date, as of July 15th, there is still no certain date, but certainly before the end of July,” he insisted. “A dear friend, Kelli, is helping me solve some point-of-sale problems and stuff like that. We will be open only to delivery and take-out pending the license for wine and beer. The dine-in portion will be inaugurated in September. Before the opening, at least two or three waiters are expected to be hired, who will initially only help me with telephone orders and subsequently with the dine-in, but as I already said, the first few months will only be for delivery and take away. I have not yet contacted anyone for deliveries, but I believe I will rely on town companies who deliver.”
On a final note, Saiglia said he is strongly following safety guidelines amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
“It has slowed the opening for some months, with the consequences of losing money, and forced me to leave some tables empty, to respect the guidelines,” he said.
Additional information about Farinata Italian-Style Pizza, including many other menu items can be found online at https://www.farinatastyle.com/
The phone number is 775-877-9400.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes